[Music]
the soaring cost of drugs has sparked a
public outcry across the United States
in 2016 there is no evidence that I’m
aware of that
this price increase was driven by a need
welcome to watchmojo.com Ono tool called
my lens epi pen price hikes pompous and
greedy in this installment we’re
counting down five crucial facts you
should know about the rising cost of the
epi pen health insurance landscape is
partly to blame for the rising consumer
costs especially for people with high
deductibles number five what is an
EpiPen an epinephrine auto-injector more
commonly known by its commercial name
EpiPen is a crucial piece of a medical
kit for anyone at risk of suffering
severe allergic or possibly fatal
anaphylactic reactions the device
delivers a measured dose of epinephrine
or adrenaline into the user’s system
using a spring-loaded needle giving
quick and crucial treatment to what can
be a life-threatening condition the
design was initially developed for the
US military with former NASA employee
and biomechanical engineer Sheldon
Kaplan widely credited as its inventor
today the technology has been adapted
for general use and many severe allergy
sufferers carry it on their person in
case of emergency according to
pharmaceutical company Milan the
marketers and distributors of the EpiPen
quote as many as 8 million Americans or
two-and-a-half percent of the US
population have food allergies and these
statistics have been steadily rising in
recent years while not every allergy is
severe enough to warrant an EpiPen there
is a huge need for the device and a
massive market number four what happened
to the price of drugs marketing rights
for the EpiPen were acquired by US Dutch
pharmaceutical company Milan in 2007
with annual sales around 200 million
dollars at the time but as of August
2016
yearly figures had surpassed 1.3 billion
dollars the rise has been attributed to
a change in marketing tactics and
dramatic increase in the cost of the
product beginning in 2009 a series of
price hikes has seen the retail value of
a pack of two EpiPens
rise more than 400 percent from around
$100 to around $600 as a result Milan
and EpiPen have come to symbolize the
rising price of drugs in America
generally a combination of increased
insurance premiums and hiked
over-the-counter costs means that the
patient is forced to pay more on two
fronts because the EpiPen has so many
patients depending on it however and
because of the rapidity and regularity
with which it’s price has increased the
company has come under particularly
strong criticism what am I supposed to
choose between putting food on my table
between paying rent or between buying
the EpiPen
also since the dosage carried in the
device costs only around one dollar and
the technology itself which costs only a
few dollars more to produce appears
largely unchanged since Milan took over
question marks have been raised as to
why patients are being charged so much
more now number three what is the
reaction been to the price hikes
criticism has been widespread in public
and political circles Democratic
presidential candidate Hillary Clinton
has labeled development as quote
outrageous while the American Medical
Association has urged Milan to quote
rein in these exorbitant costs according
to further reports the Senate is set to
carry out an investigation into the
company that could see it pulled before
Congress upon announcing the price hikes
in August 2016 Milan also suffered on
the markets with stock losing over five
percent and reports emerged of Americans
shopping for EpiPens in other nations
including Canada where costs are
significantly lower Milan CEO heather
brush has insisted that she is as quote
frustrated as the American public
however look no one’s more frustrated
than me I’ve been immature rages you’re
the one raising here so how can you be
frustrated brash cited problems with the
US healthcare system in general as
reason for the increased hepa pen cost
referring to a healthcare quote crisis
and comparing it to 2007 s mortgage
financial crisis our health care is in a
crisis it’s no different than the
mortgage financial crisis
back in 2007 this bubble is going to
burn bubble what are you referring to
according to Brush EpiPens list price of
six hundred and eight dollars reflects
how it is passed through four or five
companies before it can be sold fresh
noted mile ins net profit from every
sale as two hundred and seventy four
dollars and she highlighted how heavily
the company had invested in placing
EpiPens in schools across the country
number two is there a price gouging
trend in the pharmaceutical industry the
u.s. prescription drugs industry is
proving exceptionally and increasingly
lucrative as the case of the EpiPen
falls into a wider gouging trend
according to the Journal of the AMA
between 2013 and 2015
net spending on prescription drugs in
the u.s. increased around 20 percent and
there are some recent high-profile
examples where companies have pushed
spending up in November 2015 the US
Senate investigated touring
pharmaceuticals after it acquired rights
to sell daraprim a life-saving pill that
is used as an anti-malarial drug and the
treats toxoplasmosis in hiv-positive
patients within weeks of taking over
touring increased the cost of the drug
by over five thousand percent from about
$13.50 to $750 per pill turning is a
very small company it’s a new company
and we’re not a profitable company so
for us to try to exist and maintain a
profit I think is pretty reasonable
again this isn’t an isolated case as a
2014 House of Representatives report
found that as many as ten generic drugs
had been subject to massive price hikes
of four hundred and twenty to eight
thousand percent compared to 2013
critics have labeled the likes of brush
as well as former touring CEO Martin
shkreli as quote profit ears using human
need for personal gain do you think
you’ve done anything wrong on the advice
of counsel I invoke my Fifth Amendment
privilege against self-incrimination and
respectfully declined to answer your
question while some patients suffer
business appears to boom number one
what’s next for the people who need the
drug as an EpiPen can be a life-saving
piece of equipment for thousands of
people
the
and for the device isn’t likely to
decrease meaning those in need of an
auto-injector may be forced to look
elsewhere if they can’t afford it at
u.s. prices lesser known brand Audrina
click offers a similar much cheaper but
slightly more complicated product to use
obtainable if prescribed by a doctor as
Milan holds such a monopoly on the
market other alternative brands are
scarce Milan itself insists that there
are ways for lower-income families to
get an EpiPen however in the wake of the
criticism the company announced plans to
triple its co-pay assistance program
from $100 to $300 and that it will
increase eligibility for the program
meaning more patients will qualify for
discounts Milan further announced on
August 29th 2016 that our more
affordable generic product would be put
on the market in the following weeks
though it will be identical to the
EpiPen other than the lack of the brand
name its list price would not be selling
for approximately three hundred dollars
however as of the same date the list
price of the original is set to remain
the same while US lawmakers have
welcomed such moves they’ve also said
that more needs to be done a
spokesperson for Hillary Clinton called
the plans quote insufficient and other
lawmakers have labeled it a PR stunt for
allergy sufferers and parents of
children at risk the issue remains the
same regardless an EpiPen is vital for
their child’s safety
multiple devices are often required they
can’t be reused and they have a short
shelf life so at more than $600 for just
two pens it’s a problem that just
doesn’t add up
did these facts get you thinking I think
this actually calls for a lot more
investigation a lot more questions to
vote for which news story is covered
next
head over to watchmojo.com slash a jest
and be sure to hit that subscribe button
for more newsworthy top 10s published
every week people are outraged because
it seems outrageous
[Music]
Oh
the soaring cost of drugs has sparked a
public outcry across the United States
in 2016 there is no evidence that I’m
aware of that
this price increase was driven by a need
welcome to watchmojo.com Ono tool called
my lens epi pen price hikes pompous and
greedy in this installment we’re
counting down five crucial facts you
should know about the rising cost of the
epi pen health insurance landscape is
partly to blame for the rising consumer
costs especially for people with high
deductibles number five what is an
EpiPen an epinephrine auto-injector more
commonly known by its commercial name
EpiPen is a crucial piece of a medical
kit for anyone at risk of suffering
severe allergic or possibly fatal
anaphylactic reactions the device
delivers a measured dose of epinephrine
or adrenaline into the user’s system
using a spring-loaded needle giving
quick and crucial treatment to what can
be a life-threatening condition the
design was initially developed for the
US military with former NASA employee
and biomechanical engineer Sheldon
Kaplan widely credited as its inventor
today the technology has been adapted
for general use and many severe allergy
sufferers carry it on their person in
case of emergency according to
pharmaceutical company Milan the
marketers and distributors of the EpiPen
quote as many as 8 million Americans or
two-and-a-half percent of the US
population have food allergies and these
statistics have been steadily rising in
recent years while not every allergy is
severe enough to warrant an EpiPen there
is a huge need for the device and a
massive market number four what happened
to the price of drugs marketing rights
for the EpiPen were acquired by US Dutch
pharmaceutical company Milan in 2007
with annual sales around 200 million
dollars at the time but as of August
2016
yearly figures had surpassed 1.3 billion
dollars the rise has been attributed to
a change in marketing tactics and
dramatic increase in the cost of the
product beginning in 2009 a series of
price hikes has seen the retail value of
a pack of two EpiPens
rise more than 400 percent from around
$100 to around $600 as a result Milan
and EpiPen have come to symbolize the
rising price of drugs in America
generally a combination of increased
insurance premiums and hiked
over-the-counter costs means that the
patient is forced to pay more on two
fronts because the EpiPen has so many
patients depending on it however and
because of the rapidity and regularity
with which it’s price has increased the
company has come under particularly
strong criticism what am I supposed to
choose between putting food on my table
between paying rent or between buying
the EpiPen
also since the dosage carried in the
device costs only around one dollar and
the technology itself which costs only a
few dollars more to produce appears
largely unchanged since Milan took over
question marks have been raised as to
why patients are being charged so much
more now number three what is the
reaction been to the price hikes
criticism has been widespread in public
and political circles Democratic
presidential candidate Hillary Clinton
has labeled development as quote
outrageous while the American Medical
Association has urged Milan to quote
rein in these exorbitant costs according
to further reports the Senate is set to
carry out an investigation into the
company that could see it pulled before
Congress upon announcing the price hikes
in August 2016 Milan also suffered on
the markets with stock losing over five
percent and reports emerged of Americans
shopping for EpiPens in other nations
including Canada where costs are
significantly lower Milan CEO heather
brush has insisted that she is as quote
frustrated as the American public
however look no one’s more frustrated
than me I’ve been immature rages you’re
the one raising here so how can you be
frustrated brash cited problems with the
US healthcare system in general as
reason for the increased hepa pen cost
referring to a healthcare quote crisis
and comparing it to 2007 s mortgage
financial crisis our health care is in a
crisis it’s no different than the
mortgage financial crisis
back in 2007 this bubble is going to
burn bubble what are you referring to
according to Brush EpiPens list price of
six hundred and eight dollars reflects
how it is passed through four or five
companies before it can be sold fresh
noted mile ins net profit from every
sale as two hundred and seventy four
dollars and she highlighted how heavily
the company had invested in placing
EpiPens in schools across the country
number two is there a price gouging
trend in the pharmaceutical industry the
u.s. prescription drugs industry is
proving exceptionally and increasingly
lucrative as the case of the EpiPen
falls into a wider gouging trend
according to the Journal of the AMA
between 2013 and 2015
net spending on prescription drugs in
the u.s. increased around 20 percent and
there are some recent high-profile
examples where companies have pushed
spending up in November 2015 the US
Senate investigated touring
pharmaceuticals after it acquired rights
to sell daraprim a life-saving pill that
is used as an anti-malarial drug and the
treats toxoplasmosis in hiv-positive
patients within weeks of taking over
touring increased the cost of the drug
by over five thousand percent from about
$13.50 to $750 per pill turning is a
very small company it’s a new company
and we’re not a profitable company so
for us to try to exist and maintain a
profit I think is pretty reasonable
again this isn’t an isolated case as a
2014 House of Representatives report
found that as many as ten generic drugs
had been subject to massive price hikes
of four hundred and twenty to eight
thousand percent compared to 2013
critics have labeled the likes of brush
as well as former touring CEO Martin
shkreli as quote profit ears using human
need for personal gain do you think
you’ve done anything wrong on the advice
of counsel I invoke my Fifth Amendment
privilege against self-incrimination and
respectfully declined to answer your
question while some patients suffer
business appears to boom number one
what’s next for the people who need the
drug as an EpiPen can be a life-saving
piece of equipment for thousands of
people
the
and for the device isn’t likely to
decrease meaning those in need of an
auto-injector may be forced to look
elsewhere if they can’t afford it at
u.s. prices lesser known brand Audrina
click offers a similar much cheaper but
slightly more complicated product to use
obtainable if prescribed by a doctor as
Milan holds such a monopoly on the
market other alternative brands are
scarce Milan itself insists that there
are ways for lower-income families to
get an EpiPen however in the wake of the
criticism the company announced plans to
triple its co-pay assistance program
from $100 to $300 and that it will
increase eligibility for the program
meaning more patients will qualify for
discounts Milan further announced on
August 29th 2016 that our more
affordable generic product would be put
on the market in the following weeks
though it will be identical to the
EpiPen other than the lack of the brand
name its list price would not be selling
for approximately three hundred dollars
however as of the same date the list
price of the original is set to remain
the same while US lawmakers have
welcomed such moves they’ve also said
that more needs to be done a
spokesperson for Hillary Clinton called
the plans quote insufficient and other
lawmakers have labeled it a PR stunt for
allergy sufferers and parents of
children at risk the issue remains the
same regardless an EpiPen is vital for
their child’s safety
multiple devices are often required they
can’t be reused and they have a short
shelf life so at more than $600 for just
two pens it’s a problem that just
doesn’t add up
did these facts get you thinking I think
this actually calls for a lot more
investigation a lot more questions to
vote for which news story is covered
next
head over to watchmojo.com slash a jest
and be sure to hit that subscribe button
for more newsworthy top 10s published
every week people are outraged because
it seems outrageous
[Music]
Oh
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